Baseball games linger beyond three hours, usually for no good reason. The Dodgers have disappeared from most television screens in Southern California. As Commissioner Bud Selig approaches retirement, feuding factions of owners are fighting to decide who his replacement will be.

There is no shortage of concerns for the good folks in the commissioner's office to address. So what pressing issue did a high-ranking league official take up with the Dodgers this week?

A machine that dispenses soap bubbles.

No, seriously.

When a Dodgers player hits a home run, the team celebrates with a bubble machine. Before Tuesday's game against the Angels at Dodger Stadium, Joe Torre, Major League Baseball executive vice president, advised the Dodgers to stop using the machine.

That word did not get to all the players, or to the video crew. When Juan Uribe hit a home run in the second inning, the Dodger Stadium video board flashed an image with the words "Bubble Machine."